Your failure to plan is not my emergency.

We were having a family over for breakfast and games one Saturday when a girlfriend called and asked if we could babysit for her within the hour (it wasn't for an emergency).  I regretfully turned her down, and I felt guilty about it.  I like to be there for friends when I can.  When I told our guests about it, the husband said point blank, "Their failure to plan is not your emergency."

I am in no way being critical or passing judgement on my girlfriend.  His comment was brutally honest, but it got me thinking about planning.
Planning is so important that without it, life won't go where I want it to. 

• I can't teach my children without a thinking about what I want to teach them.
• I can't fulfill my visiting teaching assignments without calling my sisters and setting dates for visits.
• I can't fulfill my callings unless I plan ahead, making announcements and teaching others about dry-pack canning.
• I can't go to the temple without scheduling a baby sitter.
• I can't have a happy marriage unless I put a little thought into things, planning dates, writing letters, thinking about what my husband would like.
• I can't give gifts unless I think about the person I want to give a gift to.

Last year, I let life slip me by.  I planned and scheduled almost nothing, and thus, I got almost nothing accomplished that year.  I gave in to the misconception-- whether mine or from some outside influence, I don't know-- that it didn't matter when I got out of bed, whether or not I worked out or read scriptures or kept to a routine.  Because of that, I got lazy and developed habits that now I strive to break.  And it's challenging.

I don't want this year to be the same way.  It's already April, but it's gone by in record time.  I can say the only habit I've changed is working out-- I am now accustomed to working out five days a week for nearly an hour, and I've adapted to waking at 6am (I'm working to 5am) in order to do that. 

Here's another realization I had:  anything I do for myself during the daylight hours is taking time away from my kids.  So I want to work out and get ready for the day BEFORE my kids awake, so that I can focus on being a better mother for them.  (My problem now is learning to go to bed before 11pm.  Six hours of sleep is not enough!)

There are so many things I want to get done.  Now I just have to regiment my day so I can get them done.  Next year I want to homeschool our four-year-old, and in order to do that, I need to be structured.  I'd better start making progress towards that now!